THE CLAN SERIES BOOK 1: ALL IN

CHAPTER 3

Kihyun watched the blood seep into the gray concrete. His eyes grew wide as tractor tires His ears rang this loud annoying wail that seemed to drown out his thoughts and everything around him. Kihyun didn't realize that the rain had stopped and that the sky had turned a starry black. He couldn't really see anything in the darkness except for the blood from Gun's head; his blood was a bright red, it was like looking at pop art. Kihyun didn't realize how much time must have gone by. And the officers were still in front of him. Now was his time. ''Excuse me,'' Kihyun said in a small voice. ''But before you kill me, could you tell me what time it is?'' The first officer grunted, sheathing his pistol and pulling up his unifrom sleeve to Reveal a digital watch. ''It's 11:11 pm.'' The officer told him and before Kihyun could thank him, the guards clambered back into their obnoxiously loud white and blue police car.

Kihyun tried to sort his thoughts. He still couldn't hear, and his classmate was now dead in front of him, blood pouring from a hole in his head like the niagara. He knew he couldn't save Gun, and he also knew he couldn't stay outside much longer. He had to get inside. He had to save himself. Kihyun's breathing became ragged with his growing anxiety. Suddenly Kihyun's feelings came crashing down on him like waves in the ocean. He remembered the events of the day. His heart sank and he felt bad for his whole outburst. He missed his friends. And he wanted them to come find him. His legs felt numb and tender; sort of like jelly. He didn't even know if he could help himself up. Much less, walk. He knew the way he came.

He looked back at where the clad in black and shiny visors officers once stood, he saw the marks the police car left behind as it drove away. Then he looked to his fallen classmate. Kihyun was determined to figure out why Gun said his friend's father is out to kill him? Why was that? Was he joking? Now he's dead, Kihyun will never know. Is that it? Is that the end of the answers? Kihyun pulled his eyes away from his deceased friend, looking the way he'd come: he saw three things. He saw a pile of broken concrete building, a naked scorched tree and he saw a bus stop.

Kihyun decided the bus stop was too dangerous to stay at, and the tree wouldn't be able to protect him much; so he went for the pile of stone. Kihyun hoisted himself to sit on his knees, reached for his crutches and hauled himself up to a standing position. And it hurt. It hurt a lot. He took a deep breath through his nose, filling his lungs with the horrible smell of smoke. Then he walked. Well he tried to walk.

Hyungwon was worried for his friend. Could his friend have been dead? It could be possible, but he didn't allow himself to think that. He thought that leaving that thought in a box in the back of head would help him focus on the task at hand. Wonho kept leading the way. Both maps overlapped. He wondered why there was something that seemed so damn bothersome about those maps. There had to be something and right now wasn't the time to think about that either. He packed it away in another box for another time.

Hyungwon saw a bus stop. "Guys," Hyungwon called. "I think Kihyun went this way. I don't know why but it feels as if he chose this path." Minhyuk barked an answer. "What makes you think that? Boy can't even cross the street—" "That's exactly why I think he went in a straight line. He just ran forward blindly." Hyungwon cut him off. He had that audible annoyed snap in his voice. So they walked some more, legs on fire. When they arrived to the bus stop, there was no one there. But Hyungwon did see a bare, burnt and bony tree. He also saw a pile of what seemed to be stone. In the distance he saw a body. Could that be.... 

Hyungwon swallowed the growing lump in the back of his throat. "Lets search around here. He should be here. Surely." The boys looked around for a sign of Kihyun. As they looked they were always ready to run. Hyungwon tried pushing away one huge lone stone. Minhyuk was inspecting the tree, as if there could still be a bird living in it. Hyungwon doubted that. All the birds probably migrated or died already. Hyungwon took a petal from the flower and let it sit on his tongue. He swallowed. And his vision felt as if it's been wiped clean and fresh.